Six Of Foxes (Six Foxes)
Christ 2
In less than an hour, Silva already knew that the prison wagon usually passed through a stopover named Pesanggrahan Warden on the way to the Royalemerald. Krista and the others had to walk three kilometers outside the Upper Udeshleg to find the tavern. The warden's mess was crowded with local farmers and porters so useless, then they advanced steadily on the road. By the time they found a relatively sheltered place surrounded by trees large enough to meet their needs, Krista was on the verge of collapsing. He thanked the Saints and for the seemingly inexhaustible energy of Tera. The young man cheerfully volunteered to go ahead and become a monitor. As the prison rolls past, Tera will light a beacon to warn the others, then run to rejoin them.
Silva spent a few minutes remodeling Tera's forearm, hiding Geak's tattoo and exposing the shredded skin there. Ken's tattoo and his own tattoo will be handled tonight. It's possible that in prison nobody recognized the tattoos of the Moontown gang and brothel, but Mending didn't take any chances.
"Come as blossom," cried Tera as she darted into dimness, her long legs bulging the distance easily.
"Or goes as blossom" they answered. Krista accompanies Tera's departure with a real prayer as well. He knew Tera was armed and could stand guard, but because of her tall, sunken posture and Riverdalen's skin, the young man was simply too prominent.
They camped in dry ditches bounded by bushes, took turns sleeping on hard rocky ground and stood guard. Despite the exhaustion, Krista thought she would not be able to sleep, but the next moment she realized, the sun was already high above them, emitting a dazzling light on the sidelines of the cloud. It must be past noon. Silva was beside him holding the wolf pepper cake he bought in the Upper Udeshleg. Krista saw that someone had made a small fire and among the charcoal, there were sticky remnants of melted paraffin blocks.
"Where are the others?" krista asked as she spread her eyes across an empty trench.
"On the road. Ken said we better let you sleep."
Krista rubbed her eyes. Maybe he was given a waiver for a new injury. Perhaps he was also not an expert at concealing his weariness. The crackling that sounded suddenly from the street muttered Krista. In a split second, he was already standing while wielding a knife.
"Kalem," said Silva. "It's just Reyn."
Tera must have given a warning. Krista takes the cake from Silva and rushes to where Ken and Reader are watching Reyn fiddling with something at the base of the thick red dir tree. There was a series of explosive sounds, then white smoke billowed from the trunk of the tree that stuck into the ground. For a moment nothing seems to happen, then the roots detach themselves from the ground, curling and withering.
"What's that?" ask Krista.
"Salt concentrate" Silva said.
Krista shakes her head. "What is Reader... pray?"
"Merapal. The Barchens do that whenever they cut down trees."
"Always?"
"Blessing depends on the use of wood. There's a blessing to make a house, to make a bridge." Silva was silent for a moment. "For firewood."
In less than a minute, they had already uprooted the tree until the trunk crossed the road. Because, the roots are still intact, the tree seems to fall down on its own due to disease.
"Once the wagon stops, the tree at best gives about fifteen minutes," Ken said. "Move quickly. Prisoners should be hooded, but they can hear, so don't speak a word. We cannot arouse suspicion. They may have guessed that this was a routine stop. Try to keep thinking that."
While Krista waits in the trenches with the others, she considers anything that might go beyond the plan. The heads of the prisoners may not be waded. Maybe in the cart there's a guard. And suppose they succeed? Well, that means they'll be prisoners heading to the Royalemerald. It was not impressed as a promising finish.
Just as Krista begins to wonder if Tera is mistaken and blames the flare too early, the prison wagon appears in sight. The vehicle slid past them, then stopped in front of a tree. Krista could hear the sais swearing at her partner.
The two of them slid down from the chair and went to the tree. They stood there for a long time staring at the tree. The big body guard took off his hat and scratched his stomach.
"What are they doing?" gerutu Ken's.
Finally, they seem resigned that the tree will not move on its own. They returned to the cart to retrieve a thick lump of mine and removed a horse from its place to help drag the tree off the road.
"Prepare" said Ken. He inched up from the trench, then darted to the back of the wagon. He left his cane in the ditch and even if it hurt, Ken was good at hiding it. The young man took out a key-cock from the inner layer of the coat and gently cradled the wagon, almost lovingly impressed. Within seconds, the padlock was open.Ken shifted the crossbar to the side, then glanced behind the cart to check that the two men were still busy tying the look of a tree. Then he opened the door.
Krista stiffens, waiting for a signal from Ken. Aba-aba is not coming. Ken instead stood still while staring into the wagon.
"What's wrong?" ask Reyn.
"Maybe they're not hooded?" krista timpal. From the side he could not see. "I'm the only one there." They can't go to the cart together.
Krista climbs out of the trench and approaches Ken from behind. He's still flinching in place. Krista touched Ken's shoulder at a glance and begged the young man. Ken Lunark has a beard. What's the matter? Krista must not ask because the prisoners can hear. He peeked into the wagon.
All the prisoners were handcuffed and covered with black sacks. However, their numbers were far more than they had seen in the checkpoint here. Instead of sitting and chained to a bench, they stood in knots.Their legs and hands were shackled, and they were all wearing iron collars hooked to hooks on the wagon ceiling. Whenever one starts to bend or lean too limp, breathing is inevitably blocked. The scenery is not beautiful, but so they are stuck, there is little chance that anyone can fall and die tight.
Krista beckoned to Reader, who jumped from the trench to join them.
"What's wrong?" asked one of the prisoners in Juwel, his voice scared.
"Tig!" hardik Reader roughly in the language of Barchen. The prisoners were in a file-cart, as if they were suddenly on standby. Krista herself unconsciously followed straighten her back. With that one word, the entire Reader's actions changed, as if one sharp command word was wearing a Dushenka uniform to his body. Krista looked at the reader with concern. He had already begun to feel comfortable hanging out with the young man. It is spontaneous, but not wise.
Ken opened six shackles of hands and feet. One by one, Krista and Reader lowered the six prisoners closest to the door. There is no time to consider height, stature, or even they liberate men or women. They led the prisoners into the trenches while keeping watch.
"What's going on?" one of the prisoners dared to ask. "Tig!" from Reader silenced him.
Once they were not visible from the street, Silva slowed the pulse of the prisoners to the point that they were unconscious. Only then did Reyn remove the prisoner's sack of headgear: four men, one old enough, a middle-aged woman, and a young Kuwei. It's not ideal, but hopefully the guards don't attach much importance to accuracy. In any case, how could a group of prisoners who were chained and shackled act troublesome?
Silva injected the prisoners with sleeping pills to prolong their rest, and Reyn helped roll them into a trench behind the trees.
"Will we just leave them here?" reyn whispered to Krista as they were shoved into the back of the wagon carrying the hoods of the prisoners.
Krista's eyes were fixed on the two guards who moved the tree and, without looking at Reyn, she said, "They will wake up and run away soon. We help them."
"It doesn't seem to help. Looks like we left them in the trenches."
"Be quiet" Krista ordered, this is not a time or place to debate morals. If Reyn did not know the difference between being shackled and being free, the young man would realize it soon enough.
Krista cupped her hands into her mouth and made a low-pitched chirping sound. Their time may be four, or five more minutes before the two guards move the tree off the road.
Reader locks Reyn first, then Silva. Krista saw him stiffen as Silva stroked his hair to receive the collar, eventually revealing the white curves of his neck. While Reader locked his own collar, Silva turned his head to the side while looking into the young man's eyes. The expression that flashed between the two of them was as if it was capable of melting the northern ice for miles. The reader then hurriedly steps away. Krista almost laughed. So, that's the only way to get rid of Dushenka.
Next Tera, still huffing after running from the intersection. Tera blinked as Krista waded through her head. They heard the two guards shouting back and forth.
Krista waded through Reader's collar and tiptoed to wade through her head. However, as he moved to cover Silva, the Knoulbar blinked his eyes quickly while turning his head to the door of the cart. Silva still wanted to know Ken was about to lock them inside in what way.
"Note" said Krista without a voice.
As soon as Ken gestured to Krista, the girl jumped down. He closed the door of the cart, locked the cart, and shifted the slippers. A second later, the door opened from the edge, Ken merely dislodged his hinge. The trick they often use when the padlock is too complicated to pry without fuss or when they want to impress that theft is an inside job. Ideal for making a murder seem like a suicide, Ken once told him. Krista doesn't know if Ken really meant it.
Krista saw the road for the last time. Both men had finished tilting the tree. The big man clinched his hand and slapped the horse's butt. The other man had already advanced to the front of the wagon. Krista gripped the door lips and threw herself up, then narrowed inside. Ken immediately began to restore the hinge. Krista covered the surprised face of Silva with a sack, then stood next to Tera.
However, in the dimness though, Krista could see that Ken was moving too slowly, his gloved fingers were much more clumsy than Krista had seen all along. She why? And why is he pecking at the door of the cart? There's why Ken hesitated, but what?
Krista hears a metal clink as Ken drops one of the screws. He glanced at the floor of the wagon and kicked a screw at Ken, trying to ignore his pounding heart.
Ken squatted down to put on the second hinge. Breathing violently. Krista knows Ken is working with minimal lighting, relying on mere touch, whereas his fingers are covered in the cursed sheath he always wears, but according to Krista that is not why Ken this seal. Krista heard the sound of footsteps on the right side of the wagon, one of the guards yelling at her colleague. Come, Ken. Krista didn't have time to sweep their footprints. What if the guards noticed? What if the guard pulls the door, which then just slips off the hinges to reveal Ken Lunark, who is hoodless and untied?
Krista again heard the metal clink. Ken nodded slowly. The door suddenly shook as the guard shook the crossbar wrapped around the chain. Ken rests his hands on the hinges, holding back so that the door does not break. The light under the door widened. Krista held her breath.
The hinge held in place.
Again a cry in the language of the Barchen.again footsteps. Then there was the sound of the bridle being snapped and the carriage sliding forward, rolling down the street. Krista allowed herself to exhale. His throat feels dry.
Ken placed the position next to Krista. Ken waded through Krista's head so that a musty smell instantly filled her nostrils. The next Ken will wade through his own head, then lock himself in. It's easy, it's just a cheesy magician's trick, and Ken knows it all. Ken's arm pressed Krista from shoulder to elbow while the young man locked the collar around her neck. The captive bodies shifted on Krista's back and sides, pinning her down.
They are safe for now. However, the cart wheel's brain could not hide that Ken's breathing was getting stingy-shallow and fast, broken like a trapped animal. Krista never thought she would hear such a sound coming out of Ken's mouth.
Krista keeps listening carefully, she's the closest to Ken and that's why she knows exactly when Ken Lunark, the Fox, the Dirty Hand, B*jing*n Krisbow, is, and the deadliest young man in Moontown, fell unconscious on the shoulder of the Zemeni girl.
